The House of Representatives on Wednesday asked the federal government to declare oil-producing coastal communities in Ondo state as disaster zones requiring national emergency.
In a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Donald Ojogo (APC, Ondo), the House spoke of the need to save the communities from extinction as a result of sea incursion and ocean surges.
Leading the debate on the motion, Ojogo said the four oil-producing communities of the coastal area of Ondo state are major sources of revenue for the Nation.
According to him, the communities account for about 5.8 percent of the 60,000 Barrel Per Day (BPD) of Ondo state’s crude oil production output amounting to about 3.7 percent of Nigeria’s total oil production.
The Ondo lawmaker argued that this oil production by the communities contributed to Ondo State being ranked 5th among Nigeria’s oil-producing states as captured by the NDDC law.
He argued that devastating sea incursions and ocean surges have been the albatross of these communities for over two decades with hundreds of homes and properties destroyed resulting in the displacement of indigenes of the communities in their thousands.
He maintained that the ocean surge has also resulted in the disruption of oil exploration activities, thereby posing threats to peace and security in the riverine areas of the state.
He expressed concern that the surges which have become an annual occurrence have reached a peak thereby submerging more than half of each of these communities; and in the case of AWOYE in particular, the communities are now split into two by the ravaging incursion.
He disclosed that in the last three weeks, the upsurge in the sea incursion has prompted a massive movement of indigenes and regrettably, avoidable deaths have been recorded due to the harsh conditions the displaced persons are subjected to.
He said the development has become alarming that successive administrations in Ondo State appear to have been overwhelmed, thus helpless in the face of the gradual sink of these communities into the ocean and almost inevitable extinction.
The Ondo lawmaker said this disturbing scene in the oil-bearing coastal communities is now a metaphor and a constant content for advertorials in International and National Broadcast channels in terms of depicting negative and ecologically impacted images.
He said there was the need to ensure that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and its resolve, through the renewed hope mantra, is supported through legislative backing to protect the nation’s treasure bases, especially at a time the administration is desirous to ramp up oil production for enhanced revenue for development.
Meanwhile, two bills sponsored by the Ondo lawmakers scaled first reading on the floor of the House on Wednesday.
The bill seeks to establish the Federal University of Oil and Gas Technology at Igbakoda as well as the National Institute for Vocational and Entrepreneurial Studies at Agadagba, Obon-Arogbo.
Source: The nation
